The Gift of the Jedi
by Marriella Bullet
Summary: Sixteen years after ROTS, Vader meets a merperson, Luke Skywalker. But turning Luke human is just the beginning. Vader will have to deal with Luke's involvment in illegal speeder races in the streets, getting high, and that's just the beginning!
1. A Meeting With Fate

**The Gift of the Jedi**

**A Luke/Vader Star Wars Fan Fiction**

**Summery: Sixteen years after Padme's death, Vader finds his son… only he's a merperson. But turning Luke back into a human is only the beginning… along for the ride are all your favorite characters, including Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewie.**

**Author Note**: **This story was once called **_**A Mer at Heart, a Hero by Fate.**_** I never liked that title, so I changed it to **_**The Gift of the Jedi. **_**I think it's a much better title.**

**Chapter One: A Meeting With Fate**

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, walked along the ocean shore on the planet, Roithan. He had had a rough day, and it was nice to finally have some time to stare at the sea and relax.

Vader had always liked this planet. More than half of it was covered by an ocean, and the land part of the planet only had one, small town simply called, Capital. But Vader hardly ever went into the town. He had a small palace retreat which could be seen from here on the beach. His master had allowed Vader to come here for a month and take a vacation that he desperately needed.

Though Vader was on the beach here on Roithan, his mind was parsecs away. As usual, in quiet moments such as this, Vader was thinking of Padme. It had been sixteen years ago that she'd died. That she'd been killed… by him. If it hadn't been for him, she'd still be alive… and so would their child.

Their child would just be turning sixteen, and entering its most nerve racking teenage years. Would it have been a boy or a girl? Would it look like him, or his beloved Padme? So many questions! Questions that he knew would never be answered. Because of him.

Suddenly, Vader was thrown out of his musings by the sound of the rapid splashing of waves and… screaming.

Vader enhanced his sight with the Force… and he saw the fins of a fully grown Opee Sea Killer. What was it doing so near the surface? Then Vader saw the last thing he thought he'd ever see. It was a mermaid! No wait… that was mer_man_ that he saw. And it was being chased by the Opee Sea Killer!

Vader couldn't understand the waves of panic that he suddenly felt. All he knew was that he had to help the merperson. Now! He reached out with the Force and touched the Sea Killer's mind. The Opee Sea Killers were vicious, but stupid animals, and it was easy to plant the suggestion in its head for it to go some place else.

Once the Sea Killer was far out of sight, Vader directed his attention to the merperson who was now floating unconscious on top of the water. He reached out with the Force once more, and pulled the body toward him.

Now at such close proximity, he could tell that this merperson was still just a boy, barely seventeen at the oldest. Probably closer to fifteen. The merboy had tousled blond hair, and a small frame. The upper part of his body was one of a normal human, but the lower part, instead of legs, he had one, long fin that was dark green in color.

The most remarkable thing was that he was Force sensitive. _Very_ Force sensitive. Interesting. But the most interesting thing was that the boy looked a lot like the way he'd looked at that age.

Stars! He was letting his imagination run away with him! This was a _mer_person that he was talking about!

A groan directed his attention back to the boy. He was waking up. The boy slowly opened his eyes.

His extraordinary blue eyes.

The boy tried to focus… and when he did, he drew in a sharp breath, his face one of horror. In one swift, deft motion, the child tried to dive back into the ocean which was lapping at Vader's cloak.

For some reason, unexplainable to him, Vader just couldn't bare to let the boy escape without talking to him. He grabbed the child's upper body and dragged him toward the rocks up the beach. There, he saw a large, circular rock that he pushed the boy against. Vader was careful to be gentle however.

"Let me go!" the boy pleaded. He looked as if he was ready to burst into tears, and, for a moment, Vader felt guilty for not letting him go. But he couldn't. Not yet. "Please let me go!"

Despite the boy's pleas, Vader grabbed his arms and held him in place. "Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you."

"Just let me go," the boy said, this time almost whispering.

"Not yet." Vader paused. "Why are you frightened, child?"

The boy stared at him for a moment before answering. "We… we aren't supposed to come anywhere near the land."

"Oh? And why not?"

"Land dwellers… you and the others... kill us. Don't you?"

Vader almost laughed. "I can assure you that I don't believe anyone even _knows_ about your existence. And I don't think they would kill you anyway. We are not half as bad as you think."

There was silence for a moment while the boy digested this information. "Then... you'll let me go?"

"Maybe."

The boy looked up again with fear in his eyes. "Please let me go! I want to go home! My friends will be worried about me!"

"Your friends? What about your family?"

"I don't have a family," the child whispered regretfully.

"Really? What's your name?"

Nothing could have prepared Vader for the next words that he heard from the boy.

"I'm Luke. Luke Skywalker."

Vader almost lost his grip on the boy when he heard this. _Skywalker?_ Luke _Skywalker?_ By the Force, this child, this _mer_child was his son! How in the name of the Sith had his son ended up a merperson? A species that feared all humans and land dwelling aliens. What would he do with such a child? This was so CONFUSING!

Vader looked by at the boy. _His_ boy. "Well, Luke, what do you know of your parents?"

"I… I only know their names: Anakin and Padme Skywalker. And even then, I'm not sure. I only heard these names in my dreams. No one ever actually told me. No one knows."

Vader resolved to tell his son now about their relationship with each other. "That's not entirely true."

Luke looked up curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I know about your parents."

"You do?" Luke asked hopefully.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Luke… I'm your father."

This time, it was the boy's turn to stare disbelievingly. His eyes widened in shock and he tried desperately to make his mind work.

"That's impossible! You can't be my father! You're a _human!_"

"As you should be too." Luke shook his head, unbelievingly. "Yes, my son, I'm a human and your mother was too. I'll still wondering how you ended up a merperson."

"But... how in currents of the Ocean of Slimia could _you_ be my father? How could you even be sure?"

Vader relaxed his grip on his son's arms. "My last name used to be Skywalker. I changed it and became Darth Vader…"

Luke gasped. "_You're_ Darth Vader?"

"Oh, even in the depths of the ocean you know of me?"

"Yes! You are an evil demon who kills just to entertain yourself!"

Vader sighed. Apparently the merpeople had a habit of exaggerating their stories of the people who lived out of the water. "Those are exaggerated stories full of half truths."

"You aren't a demon?"

"Of course not! If I were a demon, do you think that your mother would have ever married me?"

"I… I guess not." Luke paused. "Are you really my father?"

"Yes, son. And I would like for you to be able to live with me."

"Excuse me? You're a human, and I'm a merperson. I can't stay for more than one day out of the water if I want to stay alive."

Vader nodded disappointedly. "I understand. Well… if you _were_ a human, would you want to live with me?"

Luke thought for a moment. It was true that he'd always wanted a family. Most of all, a father. But he'd never contemplated that fact that his parents might have been humans, and his father would be Darth Vader. But… this was his _father_. He'd always wanted one. Even now, he could feel the pull that bonded him with this man.

"Yes, I'd want to live with you."

Vader smiled. His son wanted to be with him! He may have a chance at raising his child yet! All he had to do was contact a professional medic and have him see what was wrong, and how his son had ended up as a merchild, and have him correct that wrong. No problem.

"What would you say if I told you that you may have a chance at living with me? What if I told you that I could have you transformed into a human?"

Luke looked up in surprise. "Is that possible?"

"Yes. I know of a medic who lives on Corescaunt who find out why you are a merperson. If we can only find out what's wrong, it would all be downhill from there. Would you like to do that?"

Luke smiled. His son had a charming smile. "Sure!"

"Alright then. I'll contact the medic. He should be here in a few days. In the meantime…"

"In the meantime, I will go back home and wait. Please?"

Vader thought for a moment before finally giving in. "Alright."

Vader lifted his son in his strong arms, took him down to the water's edge, and put him down in the water.

Luke swam for about two meters before stopping and looking back at Vader.

"How will you know when to come back?" Vader asked.

"Just call. The water carries sound."

"Alright. I'll be calling for you."

"I'll be listening."

With that, Luke turned around to face the ocean, dove into the blue depths, and swam to his home. Leaving Vader alone, standing on the shore, looking into the sunset.

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To Be Continued…

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**Author Note: Now **_**this**_** is interesting, isn't it? Please review and tell me if you think this is cool… or if it isn't. Should I continue it? Should I delete it? Your reviews will decide the answer…**


	2. Just a Normal Life

**Author Note: I just wanted to point out that the inspiration for this story came from watching the newly released special addition version of _The Little Mermaid_. Now this doesn't mean that this story is even going to _resemble _that movie, but I just wanted to let you know. **

**Chapter Two: Just a Normal Life**

Luke swam for a few miles, and came to a cavern at the ocean floor. Then, he pushed away some heavy rocks and swam on until he came to the well hidden City of the Merpeople. It would be absolutely impossible for _anyone_ to find the city unless they already knew about it.

It was a beautiful city. All the buildings were made of white marble, and there was an ocean version of a sky, and that made the city very bright during the day and dark during the night.

Luke swam past the other merpeople, and headed for Kainie's Eat Out. It was his favorite restaurant, where he had a date with Rochelle that night. He was already going to be late before his run in with that Opee Sea Killer, and now he was just unexplainably late! But Rochelle would understand. She always did.

Finally, Luke made it to the restaurant. He quickly swam in, and began to franticly look around for Rochelle. There she was! Over by the corner, Luke saw the long golden/red hair of his girlfriend. She was sixteen, just like him. He'd met her about two weeks ago, and they'd seen each other almost every day.

"Hi, Rochelle!" Luke said, sitting down across from her.

"Luke! Where have you been? I've been sitting here for a so long waiting for you."

"I'm sorry. I ran into an Opee Sea Killer," Luke said in an attempt to impress her.

The attempt was going well. Rochelle's eyes widened in interest and worry. "Oh, Luke! What happened?"

Luke grinned. "Well, I decided to go and check out what was going on outside of the city and…"

Rochelle gasped. "You went out of the city?"

"Yes, it was very _dangerous_. The Sea Killer attacked me from behind. But I never panicked once! I fought it with my own two hands. The battle waged on _forever_, but I finally escaped."

"Luke, you could have been killed!" Rochelle exclaimed.

"I knew that. But I'm still alive, and I made it to our date. Don't worry, Ro. I'm not planning on running into it again any time soon."

"Good. But… did it take you _that_ long _just_ to fight the Sea Killer?"

Luke was tempted for a second to tell Rochelle about his meeting with his newly found father, but he decided against it. He could tell her later, but not now.

"Uh… yeah. What else do you think I did, Ro?"

Rochelle shrugged. "I don't know."

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Later that night, Luke lay in his bed at the house that he lived in, trying to get to sleep… but unable to. He was too busy thinking about his father.

His _father_.

It was a new sensation for him, to think about actually having a father. Vader looked scary at first, but after they'd talked for a while up on the shore, Luke had decided that he wasn't as evil as he'd heard.

His father was a _human_. That was what made the news of it so shocking. Yes, he had a father, but a _human_ father. Now _that_ was a new thought! His father wanted Luke to be a human as well. True, Luke had said he'd like to be one but…… what if decided that he didn't want to be a human? What would his father say to that? Would he be disappointed? Would he be angry? Probably a little bit of both.

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The next day, Luke went to meet his friends at the usual place, so they could race their water speeders. They'd designed them, and built them, and now it was finally time to try them out!

"Hay, Luke! Where have you been?" Darak asked.

Darak was one of Luke's best friends. They'd been together since they'd been kids. Luke had lots of friends, true, but he had known Darak for much longer than the rest of them.

"Hi, Darak. I slept in. I had a rough day yesterday."

"Really? What happed?"

Luke sighed. How many times must he tell this story? "I got into a fight with an Opee Sea Monster…"

"WHAT?"

"Yeah."

By this time, the other boys were swimming over to hear what had happened.

"How did you escape?"

"I… I don't really remember. I just know that I fought it for a while, and was very late for my date with Ro…" It was then that Luke realized that he had just told the others about his friendship with Rochelle. He was in for it now!

"Ooooo! Lukie's got a girlfriend!" the other boys said, teasing him. "We _knew_ that you liked Rochelle!"

"Shut up!" Luke said, blushing. "I don't want to talk about that right now."

"Oh?" Kaoan, one of the oldest boys, said. "Why not? Have you been kissing her?"

Now Luke was blushing furiously, and if it weren't for the cool ocean water, the others would have seen it and teased him even more. "Just stop it, okay!"

"Alright," Darak said. "We were only having a little fun. On with the race!"

The boys swam to where their water speeders were parked, and climbed aboard, waiting for the signal to start up.

Luke gripped the handles while he waited impatiently for the start light. He was going to win this race! He knew he could!

Suddenly, Luke realized that the start light had flashed. He started up the engines, and went off at top speed.

It didn't take long for him to catch up with all the others. He'd built his speeder himself, and he knew that it was the best speeder out there! Luke made a sharp turn at Devil's Cavern, and on to the next turning spot.

He was far ahead of the others now. All he had to do was keep this up until he got to the finish line, which he could see from here.

There he was! Yes! He'd won! HE'D WON!!!

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Vader walked out to the beach, looking around. He was about to call Luke, but he felt a tiny sense of dread within him. Sure, Luke had said that he'd hear his call and come… but what if he'd just said that so he could escape? Luke had sure seemed eager to get away. What if he was never planning to come back? Well, he was about to find out.

"LUKE!"

The call _did_ seem to carry itself farther than normal. But would Luke be able to hear it? His home was at the very depths of the sea. Even if Luke _did_ hear it, it would take him a while to get here…

Suddenly, there was splashing heard out in the ocean. Vader looked to see his son swimming toward him. So… Luke really _did _mean it when he said that he'd come. Vader let himself sigh in relief.

"Uh… hi."

It was then that Vader realized that Luke was already lying on his belly on the sand in front of him, leaning on his elbows. Vader knelt down on one knee to be closer to him.

"Hello, Luke," Vader said. He decided to talk about basic things first. "Have you been having a good day?"

Luke smiled. "I've been having a GREAT day!"

"Really?" Vader asked, interested. The child was beginning to loosen up around him. That was good. "What have you been doing?"

"I've been racing with my friends."

_Racing?_ Vader didn't know it was possible to race if you were a merperson. This may prove to be interesting, and not just because Vader himself still enjoyed racing.

"Racing?"

"Yes! With our water speeders! I won!"

"You did?"

"Yeah, I was great!"

"Tell me what happened."

As Luke relayed the story of the race with his friends, Vader stroked his son's face affectionately. This is how it always should have been, and this is how it will be very soon…

"And with a few more sharp turns, I crossed the finish line five meters before all the others!"

"Congratulations, son. By the way, I wanted to tell you that the medic from Corescaunt should be here tomorrow."

Luke's face fell at the news, and Vader began to get worried. "So soon?" Luke asked.

Vader nodded. "Yes. Why does this trouble you?"

Luke sighed. "I just don't know if I want to do this anymore. You know, become a human."

"Luke! It is who you really are! Why would you not want to become a human?"

"Well… I'd miss my friends, they'd miss me, and believe it or not, we merpeople _do_ know about the war going on up here. I don't want to be a part of that."

"Luke, you don't _have_ to be a part of it! You're my son! Doesn't that mean _anything_ to you?"

"Don't get me wrong. I'd like to be with you, but… I'm not sure if that's what I want most."

"Luke, I realize that this would be a big change, but it would be a change for the better. Don't toss aside my offer so lightly without thinking about it."

Luke thought for a moment. "Alright," he said at last. "I won't make any decisions right away." Luke looked back into the horizon, as if hearing someone calling him. "I've gotta go."

Vader reached out and gently held Luke's hand in his own, and repeated the words he'd said the night before. "I'll be calling for you."

Once again, Luke smiled. "I'll be listening."

With that, Vader let go of Luke's hand, and Luke dove back into the ocean, out of Vader's sight.

So, his son was having second thoughts about taking his rightful place by his father's side. Vader couldn't lose Luke. Not now. So the solution was simple; steps were going to have to be taken to ensure that his son remained with him.

_You are mine now, child. I will not let you leave me now._

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To Be Continued…

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**Author Note: Looks like Vader's about to get rough! (Evil music plays.) If you want to find out what happens next, you better review, or you'll never hear from me again!... you know, that threat is getting kind of old. I need to think up a new one. Well, 'till next time!**


	3. So Long, I'll Miss You

**Author Note: Thank you for all the enthusiastic reviews, guys! Keep 'em coming!**

**Chapter Three: So Long, I'll Miss You**

_Tomorrow?_ He only had until tomorrow? Only until tomorrow to explain to his friends why he was leaving, and say his goodbyes? Somehow, he thought that it wouldn't happen so soon. Did he _really_ want to go with his father? Did he _really _want to become human? Humans were said to have been unfeeling murderers, not kind and caring like his father seemed to be with him.

_The Legend of Darth Vader_ had always been a story that gave Luke nightmares as a child, and now he had to discover that this man was his father! Why did life have to be filled with such hard choices? Why couldn't life be simpler, like the way it used to be?

Luke couldn't think anymore; he was too tired. Maybe he'd think more tomorrow, but now he just wanted to sleep……

Right when Luke was about to doze off, he heard the door open, and he got up to see who it was.

It was Rochelle.

Luke smiled. Rochelle always had a knack for coming at the most unusual times!

"Hi, Ro."

"Hello, Luke. Your friends said that you went off in a hurry earlier this afternoon. Where did you go?"

Luke sighed. Better to tell her now then to wait until the last minute. "I was going up to the surface."

Rochelle gasped. "The surface!"

"To see my father."

"Your father?"

"Yes…... Darth Vader is my father." There, he'd said it. That wasn't so hard now, was it?

"DARTH VADER? A HUMAN?"

"Ro, he's not as bad as the stories made out! And he's really my father!"

This was too much for Rochelle. Her boyfriend's father was a human! And not _just_ a human, but _Darth Vader!_ How did this happen? What did all this mean?

"There's more," Luke said, cutting off anymore thoughts from Rochelle.

"What is it?" she asked, getting worried looking at Luke's tense expression.

"I… I'm going to become a human ."

This time, Rochelle was speechless. A human? _Luke_ wanted to become a _HUMAN?_ No! Why would he _ever_ want to do that? This wasn't possible! She couldn't lose Luke! Not now!

Overwhelmed by what she'd just learned, Rochelle let her temper get the best of her. She held up her chin and spoke in harsh tones. "Well, have fun with your new father. I'm sure that you'll never feel bad about leaving us."

Before Luke could respond to Rochelle's seldom use of temper, she swam out the door, not looking back.

"Ro! Come back! Please, wait! If you'd just listen to me…"

It was no use. She wasn't stopping any time soon.

Luke sank down on his bed once more, breathing hard. Because of his stupid wish to be with his father, he'd lost the only girl he'd ever loved! How many more of his friends would act this way once he told them? How many more of them would turn their backs and claim to never want to see him again? What was he going to do?

Ever since he was a little boy, Luke had wanted a family. And now that he had finally found his family, (well, part of it,) he was torn between his father, and his friends that he'd known for years. What was he going to do?

Luke wasn't sleepy any more. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. He _had _to decide what he was going to do, and he had to decide tonight.

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The next morning, Rochelle hid in front of Luke's house so she could observe his actions and see if he was really going to go through with this 'becoming a human' thing.

Suddenly, she heard an unfamiliar voice calling Luke's name. Was it… his father?

Rochelle ducked her head when she saw Luke come out of the door, and began swimming toward where the voice was coming from. She followed him, making sure that she stayed far behind so he wouldn't hear her.

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TK 427, Imperial Clone Trooper, _still_ couldn't understand why he and eleven others were here on this beach waiting for… just who _were_ they waiting for? Lord Vader had just called someone called 'Luke.' Who was Luke? And why were they facing the ocean?

Suddenly, he heard some of the other troops gasp and exchange startled whispers. 421 turned to see what all the commotion was about.

It was a MERBOY! Since when did Merpeople exist? Merpeople were just legends, and yet, there was a merperson right in front of him.

The merboy didn't seem to be at all afraid of Vader, (weird,) as he swam up to him. They seemed to be talking about something important.

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When Vader saw Luke, he relaxed. At first he was afraid that Luke wouldn't come at all. It was a fear that Vader would never be rid of.

"Father, what are all these troopers for?" his son asked in a suspicious tone.

"They're here just to make sure that you didn't change your mind."

Luke got angry when he heard this. "Change my MIND? You don't trust me, do you? You didn't want to let me make my own choice!"

"Luke, I just wanted to play it safe."

"PLAY IT SAFE? Were you going to FORCE me to become human if I had decided not to?"

Vader was quick to come to his own defense. "Of course not!" But even as he said it, Vader knew that what he was saying wasn't true. Vader wouldn't be below forcing his son to remain with him.

Suddenly, Vader heard something that sounded like a Dolphin. Apparently, it meant something to Luke. His son turned around to look at the rocks that were out beyond the braking waves.

"Wait a second, will ya?"

"Wait!" Vader said, grabbing hold of Luke's arm and holding it firmly.

"I'll be right back!" Luke said, bringing his hand out of Vader's grasp and glaring laser bolts at him.

"Fine."

Luke swam to the rocks, and Vader enhanced his sight to see why the child was swimming over there.

Then Vader saw her. It was a mermaid with long reddish/golden hair. Vader had to admit that she was beautiful.

Vader observed her carefully. She seemed to be crying as she talked to Luke. Luke was answering her now, and then…… oh my! Luke and the girl pulled themselves together in a long, passionate kiss. Burning stars, his son was in love! Vader felt jealousy from the troops aimed at Luke. The stupid troops were jealous of Luke for having a mermaid as a lover.

Vader turned his focus back to Luke. The two young people stared sadly at each other for a moment, and then the mermaid dived back into the sea. Luke stared after her longingly.

Getting worried that his son would follow her back to his home, Vader used the Force to pull his son toward him. Luke didn't resist.

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Later that day, Luke's half human, half fish form lay on top of a bed. As Luke slept, the medic from Corescaunt examined him, trying to figure out why Luke was a merperson to begin with. It took a few hours before he found out.

"I have it!" he cried triumphantly.

"You do?" Vader asked. At last, he would know what was wrong!

"Yes. Apparently, someone tampered with his DNA when he was born to turn him into a merperson. Whoever did it must have been an expert. It took me forever to find the blood block."

"Can you work around it?" Vader asked hopefully.

"Of course I can. It will take a few more hours, but it is definitely doable."

"Do it."

"Alright. I'll have to get a few things first, wait a minute."

The medic left the room to collect the necessary tools he would need, and Vader walked up to the bed that his son lay on.

At last, his son was, without a doubt, _his_. It was harder than he thought to win his son over, and even then, Vader wasn't sure that his quest to control his son was over. The incident today had proven that much. The child was still torn between his father and the women that he loved.

Luke seemed to be a little too young to be seriously in love, but when Vader thought about it, he realized that he'd been in love with Padme ever since he had been nine. So it wasn't that unusual.

Vader looked back at Luke. He was still very young… young enough to be shaped into what Vader wanted. The boy was very strong in the Force; he would make a very good apprentice. Of course, he still had to explain all this to his master. If Vader knew anything about the Emperor –and he knew _a lot_ about the Emperor- he would also want to have Luke. Vader had to make sure that the child remained his. That the Emperor didn't get his hands on Luke and try to twist him into something corrupt. Wait… wasn't that what Vader wanted to do? To instruct Luke in the ways of the Sith? If this was so, then why did Vader feel a sudden surge of anger at the thought of Palpatine doing so?

"Excuse me, My Lord?" Vader turned to see that the medic had returned. "I'm ready to begin the transformation."

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To Be Continued…

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**Author Note: Guess what? I've thought up a new way to motivate you guys to post reviews! Here it is… 'if you don't review, then I'll make this story end like a Shakespearian play! So review… duh!'**


	4. Living With the Transformation

**A.N: I know it's taken a while for me to update this. I just have so much going on right now. Plus, the internet hasn't been working, and I haven't been able to upload anything for a while. Sorry about that, but this computer can be so evil to me sometimes!**

**Chapter Four: Living With the Transformation**

Waking up was wonderful. He didn't know why. He felt warm and content, as if life had been paused just for him. Luke turned around to lie down on his side. What was he sleeping on? Whatever it was, it was soft, warm, and endless. Luke wondered if anyone would mind if he never got up.

Luke curled his legs up closer to the rest of his body. Wait…

Legs? Did he already have legs?

Luke opened his eyes to see if what he thought was true. It was. He had legs! He was a _human!_ Where was he then?

"You are in my palace," Vader, who had been standing in the corner, said.

Luke quickly whirled around to face his father. "Am I still on the same planet?"

"Yes."

Luke sighed in relief. He wasn't ready to leave the planet. He didn't even know how to use his legs yet.

"How long have I been asleep?" Luke asked.

"About two and a half days. It's already afternoon, in case you were wondering."

Luke nodded absently. He really didn't care what time of the day it was.

Suddenly, the reality hit him. He would never again be able to see his friends that he'd known all his life. He'd never be able to go back home.

"You _are_ home, son," Vader, who had been tuning in on Luke's thoughts, said. "Your home is with me now. Accept that."

"It's hard to accept the fact that I'll never see my friends again!" Luke cried, finally tearing up. "I wasn't ready for this to happen," he added quietly.

Vader crossed the room, sat down on the bed next to his son, and put his arm around Luke, pulling the boy closer to him in a comforting embrace. Luke leaned his head into his father's chest, accepting the comfort given to him. They sat there like that for a minute, until Luke had recovered from his outburst.

"I'm hungry," Luke commented.

Vader felt mental relief. Apparently his son could get over things fairly quickly.

"Well, there was some food brought up for you earlier."

Hearing this, Luke perked up. "Where is it?"

Vader pointed to a tray on a bedside table. Luke picked up the tray and put it on his lap. Picking up the fork, he took a bite of one of the many things that he saw on the plate.

"Yuck!" Luke exclaimed, spitting the food back out. "What is this stuff!?"

Vader was momentarily stunned. He never thought of the possibility that his son, once being a merperson, might not be used to what humans eat.

"It glow fruit, son."

"Whatever. It tastes awful!" Luke declared. Vader sighed. He was going to be in for quite a few strange experiences until his son got used to human ways. "Can you get me something else to eat?" Luke asked.

"Like what?" Vader asked mostly to know what Luke was used to eating.

"Farina's scales or slug hearts would be nice."

Vader grimaced under his mask. Whatever his son used to eat, it sounded disgusting. "Luke… maybe you should just get used to what humans eat."

"But human food tastes terrible!"

"It's not terrible, child. You are just accustomed to eating other types of food."

"I can't believe that you expect me to learn to eat this stuff! I'm not hungry any more."

"Sir?" Vader turned around to see one of his personal aids standing in the doorway. "You have a call from the Emperor, my lord."

"Very well." Vader stood up. "I'll be right back, Luke." At the door, Vader paused beside the aid. "Stay here and watch him."

Vader walked across the hall to the communications room, and pressed the receive button. At once, the eerie, wrinkled face of the Emperor appeared, and Vader bowed before the holo.

"Lord Vader," the Emperor began. "I expected you to be back by now."

Vader sighed. It was always straight to business with the Emperor. No skimming around the subject.

"Different matters have come up, which have prolonged my stay."

"Oh? And what would those matters be?"

Vader knew that it was hopeless to keep his son from the Emperor forever. Luke would have to be brought to Imperial Center some time, and when the Emperor found out that Vader had been keeping secrets from him, he may question Vader's loyalty.

"I have discovered the existence of my son."

Palapatine couldn't keep a flash of surprise play across his face. "Your son?" he asked with interest. Too much interest as far as Vader was concerned.

"Yes."

There was a pause as the Emperor contemplated this. "Is he Force sensitive?" was the next question.

Vader knew that this question was coming. "Undoubtedly," Vader answered reluctantly.

"Hmm… would he make a good apprentice?"

Uh-oh. Vader knew what was coming next. Naturally Palapatine would be interested in the thought of getting a newer, younger apprentice. Vader had to delay this from happening for as long as he could.

"Yes, he would make a good apprentice, but there is a drawback, however."

"Really? And what would that drawback be?"

"He was a merperson when I found him. He's a human now, but he knows nothing of how humans act."

"That is a very strange story, Lord Vader."

"Strange but true, my master."

"Indeed. Then you must bring him here to Imperial Center. That is the fastest way for him to learn about human ways."

This was the _last_ thing that Vader wanted to hear. Luke wouldn't survive one _day_ on Imperial Center! But the Emperor had requested it. How could Vader refuse?

"I will bring him, my master. How soon do you want his arrival to be?"

"As soon as you can get him onto a ship."

_Well that would take a while,_ Vader thought absently. "Yes, my master."

As soon as the transmission was cut, Vader made his way back to Luke's room.

Things were not going as he planned. It was obvious that the Emperor wanted to have Luke to train. And now, Vader had to teach Luke how to behave like a human. Force only knew how long _that_ would take! It was like having to teach a newborn baby to grow up in a few weeks instead of a regular lifetime!

At this point, Vader made it to Luke's room. He opened the door to find his aid sitting next to Luke, laughing insanely over something that Luke had just said.

"Oh, hello!" Luke said, waving Vader over. The aid tried to regain his composure, and made a quick escape out the door. "So who were you talking to?"

Vader thought about lying to Luke, but he realized that if Luke found out that he'd been lied to, he wouldn't trust Vader anymore, and Vader couldn't let that happen, because if with the Emperor now in the game, it was more important than ever that the boy trusted him.

"I was speaking with the Emperor. He requests that you come to Imperial Center."

Luke eyes widened in fright. "You mean off this planet!?"

Vader sighed. "Yes, Luke, off this planet."

"No! I don't want to go!"

"Luke… I have to obey the Emperor. Anyway, you may discover that you like Imperial Center."

"What's it like?" Luke asked uncertainly.

"It's the capital of the entire galaxy. It's all one big city, with speeders and stores and you'll get to live in my palace there. It's much bigger than this palace."

"It sounds scary," Luke said quietly. "What if I get lost on the planet? Or if I get lost in the other palace?"

"Son, you won't get lost. I promise."

There was a moment of silence as Luke thought over his options. Vader hoped that he would agree, because the last thing he wanted was to have to force his son to leave the planet.

"Alright," Luke said at last. "I'll come." Vader inwardly sighed. Thank the Force! "But there still is one itsy bitsy problem," Luke commented. "I don't know how to walk."

Oh, stars! Vader had completely forgotten about that! His son had never needed to walk in his life.

"Well, child, I think that it's about time that you learned."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The delay of Luke not knowing how to walk was very convenient for Vader. It allowed them to stay on the planet for three more days. Surprisingly, that's all it took for Luke to learn how to walk. It was probably the Force flowing through him that speeded up the process of learning.

But finally, the night before departure arrived, and Luke was deeply depressed. But not entirely because they were leaving the planet.

Luke was lying down on his bed, and Vader was just about to leave the room to let his son sleep, when Luke called out to him.

"Father." Vader turned around to listen to whatever Luke had to say. "Where's my mother? Why isn't she here with us?"

Vader knew that this question was coming, but he had hoped that it would come later. But he'd have to tell Luke sometime.

"She's dead."

Luke nodded sadly. "How did she die?"

Vader thought franticly for a moment. Well, since Luke existed, it would be impossible for Vader to have killed Padme.

"She died giving birth to you."

Luke gasped. "You mean it's my fault that she died!?"

"No, Luke, nothing like that. It was just something that could have happened, and, yes, it decided to happen."

"How did she look? Describe her for me, please."

Vader drifted off in thought for a moment. "She was an Angel. She said that she wasn't, but I _know_ that she was."

"How do Angels look?" Luke asked breathlessly.

"She had beautiful brown hair, and soft brown eyes. She had a tiny figure, but her face and stature were always those of confidence."

Luke labeled the description in his mind so that he would be able to recognize an Angel if he saw one.

"She sounds wonderful," Luke commented.

"She _was_ wonderful, Vader affirmed. "The most wonderful thing I'd ever seen"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The next morning was finally the day that Luke would leave the planet. At this point he was still scared, but excited. Yet, as they boarded the shuttle, Luke couldn't help but take one longing look back at the ocean that had been his home for sixteen years.

"Come on, child," Vader said, gently pushing his son the rest of the way up the ramp.

The short ride to the Executor was uneventful and quiet. But as they walked down the ramp into the hanger bay, Luke couldn't help but to be impressed.

"Wow! Look at all those ships! Are they all yours?"

Vader smiled. "Mostly."

He led Luke out of the hanger, and on through some halls.

"This ship is huge!" Luke declared. "How big is it?"

"Too big for you to see _all _of it today."

"Spear it!" Luke mumbled. He wanted to see all of it.

"Later, son. First, I want to show you your room."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Vader occupied the rest of his week trying to keep his son under control. He would leave him somewhere, look away for a second, and when he looked again, Luke was gone. But by the time they reached Imperial Center, Luke had the entire layout of the ship memorized.

Vader thought that exploring the ship was all his son had done, but when he and Luke were making their way down to the hanger bay to get a shuttle to take them down to the planet, he was proved wrong.

"By, Luke!" one of the techs called.

That call did it. Soon, everyone they passed began waving to Luke, and wishing him good luck. Apparently, Luke had a natural talent for making friends.

By the time they reached the hanger bay, Vader was positive that everyone in the entire ship knew that Luke was leaving.

Soon, they got into a shuttle, and began their decent down to the planet. It would be interesting to see how Luke responded to being on Imperial Center.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

To Be Continued…

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**A.N: Please don't forget to review!**


	5. Ignorance of Life

** Ignorance of Life Can Get You in Trouble**

Luke stared in awe of the city around him. He was standing on the top of Vader's palace on Corescaunt. They had arrived a few hours ago, and Vader had told his son to stay in his room until he came back. Apparently his father had some really important work to do.

But Luke couldn't stay in his room for long. He'd finally found his way to the top of the roof, and there, he'd found a public balcony. It was connected to the balcony on the top of the Emperor's palace, and there were a lot of gardens. The sad thing was that there was no one but Luke himself who was up there enjoying them.

Luke watched speeders fly by him at an exciting speed. Luke wanted to be in one of them. He wanted to see if he could race with them. He wanted to…

"Hello there."

Luke hadn't heard anyone approach him. He turned around to see who was talking. She had beautiful, brown hair, and soft brown eyes. The figure was small, but she carried herself with superior confidence. It was exactly how his father had described angels. This person must be an angel!

"Are you an angel?" Luke asked in awe.

The girl laughed. "What? Why do you think that?"

"Because you look exactly like one."

She paused for a second before coming to a realization. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Of course I am!" Luke paused, and looked down at the bowl the angel was holding. "What's that?"

She scrunched her face up in confusion. "It's ice cream."

"What's ice cream?"

"Oh my goodness, it's something you eat!"

"Oh, more yucky human food," Luke said in disgust.

Now she seemed even more confused. "You're a human, you're supposed to like the food we eat!"

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well I haven't been a human that long. Human food is disgusting!"

Leia looked at the boy in front of her. This was a charming person, but he appeared so clueless! It was like he'd been born yesterday! What did he mean about just becoming a human?

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a long story, but, the thing is that I was found about two weeks ago by my father, I was turned into a human so I can be with him."

"What? You lost me. If your father's a human, then why weren't you a human to begin with?"

Luke paused. He'd never found out about that. "I don't know."

"Listen, I don't know why, but I get the feeling that you're telling the truth. And now, I think you're the sweetest boy person I've ever met, but you can be very confusing."

Luke looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry." Suddenly, his feet fell out from under him, and Leia rushed forward to make sure that he didn't fall and hurt himself. "Whoa! Sorry, I just learned how to walk last week, but I'm still a little unsteady if I stand in one place to long."

Leia laughed. "_What?_ You just learned how to walk last _week?_ What _were_ you before becoming a human?"

"I was a merperson."

Leia stopped laughing, and stared at Luke in disbelief. "A _mer_person? But those don't even exist!"

"They do to!" Luke said, coming to his former species defense. "I once was one! And all of my friends are merpeople!"

"Wow," Leia mumbled. "What's your name?"

"Luke."

"I'm Leia."

Luke smiled. "That's a pretty name. So… _are_ you an angel?"

Leia laughed again. "No, I'm sorry, but I'm not."

"But you look just like one," Luke said sadly.

Leia just couldn't get over this guy. He was so ignorant! But that just made you want to be with him. She didn't like seeing him so sad.

"Luke… uh… would you like a bite of my ice cream?"

Luke grimaced. "No thanks!"

"Oh, come on! It's really good."

"But…"

"Please?"

Luke looked at the ice cream, then back at Leia. "I'm going to regret this." Luke picked up the spoon and took a bite. "Hay, that's pretty good for human food!" Luke exclaimed.

Leia grinned. "See? I told you!"

"Luke!" Luke and Leia turned around to see who it was that was calling. Leia gasped. It was Darth Vader! What did Vader have to do with Luke? "Luke, what are you doing up here?"

Luke shifted uncomfortably. He was in trouble now. "Uh… I just wanted to explore a little."

"Luke…" Vader began, but Luke interrupted.

"It was so _boring!_ I just wanted to find something to do!"

Vader looked at his son, then back at Princess Organa. How long had Luke been out here? What had they been talking about? If the Princess had tried turning Luke against the Empire because of her stupid ideals, then she'd soon wish that she hadn't!

Vader looked behind him, where one of his aids, and a few storm troopers stood. "Take Luke to his room. I'll be there in a minute."

"What? Wait! I want to talk to Leia!"

But despite his resistance, Luke was still not strong enough on his legs to keep himself from being led off the roof by the troopers. Once Luke was gone, Vader turned back to Leia.

"What were you two talking about?" Vader asked.

Now Leia was completely confused, and had no idea about what was going on. "Hold on a second! Since when did you know Luke?"

"Princess, he's my son."

"Your WHAT!?"

"Princess Organa, I want to know what you were talking about."

Leia wasn't even listening. That sweet, ignorant boy was Vader's _son?_ How could this evil man have a son that was so innocently charming?

"I was simply answering his questions."

"Questions about what?"

"Stars, about life in general! He doesn't know _anything!_"

"What questions did he have?"

Leia paused. Why did Vader care if Luke was talking to her? "Well, first he asked me if I was an angel and…"

"An angel? Why did he ask you that?"

Leia rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't _know_. He said that I looked like one."

Vader looked at the Princess. Yes, it was probably natural for Luke to think that Leia was an angel. After all, she _did_ look a little bit like Padme…

"Did he ask you anything else?"

Leia thought for a moment. "No, not really. Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all."

"Good!"

With that, Leia took off with a long, determined stride to the other side of the balcony. Vader watched her go. Now that he thought about it, that girl looked a _lot_ like Padme. It was probably just a strange coincidence.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Meanwhile, Luke sat, brooding, in his room. Why didn't his father want him talking to Leia? What was he afraid off? No, his father was just being mean! This wasn't _fair!_

"A lot of things in life aren't fair, son."

Luke didn't have to turn around to see who it was. "I wish you'd stop reading my mind."

"I wasn't exactly reading…."

"Oh, right! Not _exactly_ reading it! Why are you treating me like a child?"

Vader was about to retort that Luke still _was_ a child, but that was probably not going to get him anywhere. What was true was that, since Luke just became a human, he was easy pray for anyone who wanted to use him. Vader also knew that Luke was as ignorant as a child. But that was probably not the _best_ thing to tell Luke.

"Luke… I should have told you earlier that it can be dangerous here on Imperial Center. Until you've matured a little in human ways, I don't want to wandering around in any public place alone."

"But…"

"And I don't want you talking to strangers either."

"Okay, now you're REALLY treating me like a child! 'Don't talk to strangers!" Luke mimicked.

"Don't you use that kind of tone with me, young man! You're grounded!" Vader declared.

"WHAT!?"

"Yes, you're grounded for a week! Is that clear?"

"But, what can I do if I'm grounded?"

"You can stay in this room for the entire week until your punishment is over!"

Before Luke could protest, Vader stormed out of the room, leaving Luke alone.

"You're grounded, Luke!" Luke said, mimicking again. "You're gonna stay in this room for a week now, Luke!" Luke stopped mimicking, and collapsed on one of the sofas. "Scale it!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

To Be Continued…

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**A.N: Okay, I'm getting so many hits, and only four reviews! What's with that, huh? **

**Thank you to Jen, Zoe, JediDaughter1, and BabaBip for remembering to review! Darn you, to anyone else who _didn't _review! Don't worry, I forgive you! Just remember to review this time!**


	6. Luke's Adventure on Coruscaunt

**Author Note: I apologize for the long wait. SO SORRY ABOUT THAT! I have no excuse.**

**Anyway, I've decided to put a bit of an earthly twist on this. In this story, blue jeans and regular clothes that we have here exist in Star Wars. I thought it would be cool for Luke to be obsessed with leather jackets.**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Luke's Adventure on Coruscaunt**

Luke paced back and forth in his room. This was _definitely_ not what he had wanted by staying with his father… getting _grounded._

"This sucks," Luke said, still talking to himself. "At least without a dad I never got grounded. I can't stay in here for a whole week."

Luke looked around his room for some way to get out. Vader had locked the door. There was no way he could get out that way. But the only other possible way was the window. But the glass was hard, and the window wasn't made to be opened.

On a hunch, Luke stepped closer to inspect it. Just as he hoped, in the corner of the window was a small hatch that caused the glass in the window to swing open.

The room was suddenly filled with a strong wind. Luke leaned out the window and looked down. It was then that he realized how high up his room was. It was dangerous, but he was desperate.

He looked in his closet until he found a latch-line. He was about to go back to the window, when he saw a leather jacket hanging up in the closet. It looked so _cool_.

…

A few minutes later, Luke was scaling down the wall of Vader's palace wearing blue-jeans, and light blue T-shirt and a leather jacket.

It took a long time to finally get down to the platform, and even longer to sneak past the storm troopers and on into the streets. His plan was to get out, have some fun and get back to his room before Vader found out what he'd been up to.

"It'll take forever to get anywhere on this planet," Luke said to himself. He looked at a bus about to take off. Suddenly he got an idea.

He climbed onto the top of it, and held onto some small polls. When the bus took off, he was holding on tightly.

"This is so sweet!"

…

Luke rode on the bus for about thirty minutes until it got boring. When the bus got close to the ground, Luke jumped off and ended up rolling for a couple feet before finally coming to a stop.

"That was so cool!" Luke exclaimed.

Standing up, he brushed himself off and looked around. It was obvious that he was in the lower levels of Coruscaunt. He may be ignorant, but he had learned about Coruscaunt by asking the officers questions during his trip here on the Executor. They had been more than happy to answer his questions and educate him a bit on the ways of Coruscaunt life.

To the side of him, he saw double doors leading into a casino. He decided to take a look inside.

Right before he got to the door, he saw a speeder that looked a lot like his water speeder back home.

He couldn't resist getting on… and when he sat on it, he couldn't resist starting it… and when he started it, he couldn't resist taking it for a flight.

It wasn't unlike the speeders he was used to. He could do the same tricks that he could do on a water speeder. Suddenly realizing that the speeder he was riding wasn't his, Luke did a few more spins and came back down, narrowly avoiding the wall.

"Hey kid, you like that speeder?"

Luke turned around to see who was talking to him. It was a man who appeared to be in his twenties. He wore a dirty white shirt with a black vest. On his belt, he wore a low hanging blaster holster. Next to him stood a tall fury animal.

"Uh, yeah. I love speeders," Luke answered.

"I saw what you did on that thing. You've got some skills."

"Thanks," Luke said cautiously. He could tell this guy was leading up to something.

"Well there's a big speeder race tonight. If you're interested, I can pull some strings and get you in as a contestant."

Luke crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, what's in this for you?"

"Fifty percent of prize money if you win."

"Why fifty?" Luke asked.

The guy didn't pause. "Because I'm going to be the one who pays the entry fee."

"Deal," Luke said. "I'm Luke Skywalker."

"I'm Han Solo, and this is my Wookie friend, Chewie," Han said, glancing behind him.

"Hey," Luke said, waving a hand at the Wookie."

"Now come on," Han said. "We've got work to do."

For the rest of the day, Luke and Han were getting ready for the race. Han came up with the money they needed for the entry and Han obtained a speeder for Luke to race on.

…

Han didn't know what happened. He had never clicked with anyone this well since he'd met Chewie. His original plan was to get the kid to win the race, take his share of the money, and if Luke kept winning, he'd keep using him to make money, but after spending a few hours with him, he realized that he really liked this kid and could see himself being good friends with Luke.

It was true that Luke was a bit ignorant, but he was also sharp and he caught on fast. So now his plan was changed. He would tell the kid what he had first planned to do, explain to him why his plan had changed, and let the kid do the race.

…

Luke was so excited. Yes he had done other races before, but that had just been friendly competition with his friends. Nothing like this. This was a real race. He couldn't wait.

He was about to go to the starting mark when he was stopped by Han.

"Hey Luke! Before you do the race I just wanted to say… when I saw you racing today, I was just planning to use you to make money and now that I know ya, kid, I wanted to let you know that I'm sorry and I'm not going to do that. You're my friend."

Luke paused for a moment, taking in what Han said. "O-kay…. Well thanks for being honest... I can tell that you aren't normally like that. So I'm going to be honest with you…"

Suddenly, an announcement was heard overhead. "All contestants to the starting mark!"

"After the race, see ya."

For a moment, Han wondered what the kid was going to say, but then he decided just to wait until after the race to find out.

* * *

**Author Note: Just so you know, I hate slash, and this ****isn't**** going to be some gay Luke/Han story (EWWWW!) I was reading over this, and I know it sounds like that, but it's ****DEFINTALLY**** not! **


	7. A Runin With the Law

**Chapter Seven: A Run-in With the Law**

Luke was atop his speeder located at the starting mark, waiting for the race to begin. He knew, (because Han had told him earlier) that speeder races on the streets were illegal… he didn't care. As long as he stayed ahead of the law, he'd be fine. Of course Luke didn't care to contemplate the consequences of being caught by the law… that would only end up to anger his father and his grounding would probably go on _forever_.

Luke turned his focus back on the race. It was now the count down.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1!

The sound of twenty-two different speeder motors filled the crowd's ears as the race began. Han and Chewie watched anxiously from the sidelines until the speeders were out of sight. The course was three laps long, circling around five blocks and through a tunnel. The first racer to make it past the starting mark at the end of the third lap would win and be given one thousand credits as a prize.

The crowd waited in silence for about twenty minutes before the sound of the racing motors came faintly to their ears, and suddenly the racers appeared again, swerving around the corner.

Han looked for Luke. He saw him amidst the racers… not in front, but not in the back either. And on the racers went again for the second lap.

…

Luke was just beginning to get the hang of it when the second lap started. He now knew exactly where to go, and he knew how the racers played… it was rough.

There weren't as many racers now, as there were at the start of the race. Some had been crashed into, or forcibly rammed into the walls.

Luke decided he was doing even better on the second lap, until they came to the tunnel again.

Someone came along side his speeder, and began edging him toward the tunnel wall. Luke looked around for an escape, and suddenly came up with an idea. Right when the other racer came in for the kill by pushing Luke's speeder real hard into the wall, Luke swerved up and over the racer's head, causing the other man to crash his own speeder into the wall instead.

Luke laughed and continued on with the race.

…

When he came to the starting mark, this time it was the _last _time he would. This was the final lap.

Han watched the speeders come around once again. He saw Luke slightly farther ahead than he had been last time. Han feared that Luke wouldn't finish the race first.

…

The third lap was almost over and he _still_ wasn't as far ahead as he needed to be to win. When the tunnel came around, Luke knew what he'd have to do.

When you first come to the tunnel, there are two ways to go. For the first two laps, everyone had been taking the left side of the tunnel, because it looked like it came around faster than the other, but somehow Luke felt that he'd have good luck taking the right tunnel…. so he did.

For a few minutes, it seemed to be just like the other one, but then it suddenly when down, and turned. Judging by the sounds overhead, Luke decided that it was going under the other tunnel.

After a few moments, the other sounds faded as if he was getting farther ahead. When he came out of the tunnel, Luke saw that he was right. He made the turn and suddenly found himself crossing the finishing line… a few seconds later, the other racers came around the bend, but Luke had obviously been first.

The crowed cheered and ran up to Luke. Han and Chewie made it first, laughing the whole time.

"Haha! Kid we did it!"

Chewie roared in gleeful agreement.

"I can't believe it!" Luke said looking around as everyone began cheering his name.

"Me either! You won kid! You won!!!"

Someone came up with the prize money in hand. "Here you go, Luke Skywalker," he said, handing over the money. "Congratulations!"

Before the celebration could even start, a sound of a police siren was heard overhead. Everyone knew what that meant.

"The cops!" someone yelled.

Everyone scattered quite rapidly, apparently used to this happening a lot. However, with so many people around, it turned into complete and crowded chaos.

About ten police speeders landed and storm troopers came running out, arresting as many people as possible.

Han, Luke and Chewie made there way out of the crowd, an on into the streets. Still, they didn't stop running. After about a few blocks of running, they slipped into a cantina, and found a booth in the back. They sat down, and rested, breathing hard.

"That was close," Han commented.

Luke looked at Han. "Ya think?" he said sarcastically.

"Hey, at least we got away!" Han said in his defense. "This sorta stuff happens all the time in this sort of business."

"Oh really?" Luke said. Once again sarcastic. "I wouldn't have guessed." Luke sighed tiredly. "Well anyway, I don't think I'll have any trouble sleeping tonight; I'm dead tired."

"Yeah, me too," Han agreed. "I'll be glad to get back to the Falcon."

"Huh?" Luke asked, confused.

"The Falcon is my ship. And it's also where I sleep."

"That's nice," Luke said, distractedly. Right now, he was too tired to talk much.

Right then, Han noticed a waitress coming their way. He turned to Luke. "How 'bout a drink?"

…

At that very same moment, Vader was making his way toward Luke's room. He had to lay out all the rules for his son; or else he would keep disobeying him and that was something he just couldn't allow.

Unlocking the door, Vader glided in and looked around. Luke was nowhere to be seen!

Vader noticed the window, and that the glass had been removed. He walked over to in and looked down…

It was such a long way. Someone had to be completely stupid to go down that way… except for his son. Apparently this is exactly what he had done.

With that, Vader quickly left the room, activating his comlink.

"Captain," Vader said into the comlink.

"Sir?"

"Luke had run off and is somewhere lost on Coruscaunt. Send a company of storm troopers to find him. Immediately!"

…

**Author's Note: Ooohh… Vader's going to be very angry! I had fun writing this chapter. Please review and make me happy! Reviews inspire the writer to write more faster! **

**Oh, and also. If there's some element that you would like added to the story, or you think something is missing from this story, don't be afraid to tell me. I need to know what you think.**


	8. Getting High and Into Trouble

**A.N: Thank you so much for the fantastic reviews! This is why I'm updating again so soon. Keep 'em coming!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Getting High and Into Trouble**

Vader couldn't believe how disobedient his son had turned out to be. Apparently Luke didn't hold Vader's authority to a very high standard. Well he was going to change that as soon as possible. Vader resolved right then to make sure that Luke knew who was boss. Luke was his son, and it was his duty to obey Vader without question.

Vader looked at the time. It had been hours since he sent his troops out to find Luke. He told them to contact him if there were any developments, but so far, nothing. Vader didn't like to admit it, but he was getting worried.

What if something had happened to Luke? What if he had been kidnapped and taken far away? Then he would never see his child again!

Vader then realized that he was letting his imagination run away with him. Those were all very farfetched ideas. It was more possible that Luke was simply lost. If so, he would be found in no time…

… but then, hadn't it already been a couple of hours, and still no results? Maybe he should go out and look for Luke personally…

…

It was a few hours before Vader finally found out where Luke was. He felt Luke's presence in a cantina.

_Cantina?_ What was Luke doing in a cantina?

Vader sighed. Just _another_ restriction that he'd have to make clear to Luke. This "being a father" thing was getting harder and harder by the minute. Vader wondered for a second how regular parents handled this… of course _other_ children weren't usually people who had been living as another species for their whole lives up till now.

Vader parked the speeder outside of the cantina and made his way inside. Memories flushed his mind when he stepped into that crowded place…

"_Go and find her," Obi-Wan said to his apprentice._

_Anakin hesitated. "Where are __you__ going, Master?" he asked inquisitively._

_Obi-Wan grinned. "For a drink."_

Drink! Oh hopefully Luke hadn't gone _that_ far…

Vader looked around anxiously, stretching out with the Force, trying to locate Luke. He followed his senses to a booth at the back of the room. There, just as he feared, was Luke, taking long sips of a drink that Vader was sure was alcoholic. Also at the booth was a dark haired young man, and a tall Wookie. Apparently, new friends of Luke.

In front of the three, on the table, were empty cups. This led Vader to believe, (correctly) that this wasn't the first drink Luke had bought.

Vader stepped out of the shadows and in front of them. "Luke," he said, his voice hinted the anger that was boiling up inside of him.

Luke looked up to face his father. "Whoa… hello!" Luke said. "Since when did _you_ frequent places like this?"

Drunk. His son was drunk! Vader's anger reached a whole new level. "Luke, you are to come with me right now!" Vader commanded his son.

"We don't wanna go anywhere with you, bucket head!" Luke declared, taking another swing at his drink.

Vader grabbed the drink from Luke and threw it across the room. This gesture caused some of the contents to spill all over Luke.

"Oohhh… you've done it now," Luke said, in a voice that meant to say that Vader was in trouble.

"I haven't done **anything** compared to what I'm going to do to _you_, young man!" Vader declared, not able to control his anger any longer.

Luke shrugged and laughed. "Whatever you say, Mr. Clumsy, McFumblely."

Han and Chewie were laughing hard. In case you didn't know, Han was just as drunk as Luke, and Chewie couldn't help but laugh at the hilarious insults Luke was throwing at the Dark Lord.

"That's it!" Vader said, grabbing Luke's shoulder and pulling him to his feet. "You're coming back with me!"

"Ow, okay, _ow!"_ Luke declared, as Vader led Luke roughly out of the cantina. "Dude, loosen your grip, already, you're _killing_ me!"

Vader could care less about the pain he was causing his son. This too, was absolutely _nothing_ compared to what he had in store for Luke. His son had no _idea_ what he was in for.

Of course he could do nothing to his son tonight. He was drunk, so whatever happened tonight would all be forgotten by tomorrow. No, he'd have to wait till his son was sober again before he was punished.

This made Vader even angrier. Luke running off was bad enough, but _this!_ And the way he disrespected Vader back in that cantina… ahhh! This would all have to be accounted for.

Later.

…

The drive back to the palace was nerve racking for Vader. Luke kept making insulting comments, and he even make a rude comment about _Vader's_ driving skills! No one had insulted Vader in so long, he had almost forgotten what it felt like. Well, thanks to his son, who was still very high at the moment, he remembered perfectly well.

This did nothing whatsoever to improve Vader's dangerous mood. If Luke hadn't been his son, he'd be dead right now for insulting Vader so many times.

…

When they finally got back to the palace, Vader ordered his son to bed, and had an entire squad guard the door to his room, and he fixed the window so that the glass couldn't be opened if Luke woke up and decided he wanted to run away into the streets of Coruscaunt again.

Such an eventful night; even Vader was anxious to get some sleep…

…

The first thing he noticed was the pain. It was throbbing like a speeder race was taking place inside his head…

The speeder race!

Luke remembered now. Last night he'd run away and gotten involved in some illegal speeder race. And he remembered that he had won!

Luke opened his eyes, and tried to sit up… and then fell back on the pillows as fast as possible. His head hurt so _badly!_ Why?

"You got drunk last night, son," came the displeased voice of his father.

Funny, he didn't remember coming back to the palace, or Vader finding out about him leaving or anything. What…?

"People usually tend not to remember anything that happened to them while they were drunk."

Luke sighed in an annoyed fashion. "How many times have I told you _not_ to read my mind!?"

Vader disregarded Luke's question. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in!?"

Luke thought for a second before shaking his head. "No, actually I don't."

"Well," Vader said, walking towards the bed. "You are about to find out."

* * *

**A.N: Haha! It was so fun to write that part about Luke being drunk! Please review, and you'll get another chapter soon!!!**


	9. Of Halls, Oil, Chefs, and Staircases

**Author Note: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm so inspired!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Of Halls, Oil, Chefs, and Staircases**

Luke could tell by the tone in his father's voice that he was very angry. This wasn't at all how Luke had planned for this to turn out. Maybe he shouldn't have gone for a drink after the race…

"… I don't think I _want_ to find out," Luke said slowly, making sure that he didn't say anything that would get him into even more trouble.

"Nevertheless, you **are**," Vader said firmly. "Do you realize how dangerous this planet is!? And every time you disobey me, you put your life in danger."

Luke was very skeptical about this particular comment. "How so?" he said in a doubting voice.

"The Emperor," Vader began. "Might decide not to let you live."

Luke gulped. "Then maybe I don't want to live here."

_That_ was the wrong thing to say. Vader got very angry at hearing this. He strode to the bed, grabbed his son's arms and shook him violently. "It doesn't matter if you want to live here or not! You are going to live here because I said so!"

With every second that passed, Luke was wishing more and more that he had never run into that Sea Creature and met Vader. This was not the sort of father he wanted to live with… and this was not the sort of place he wanted to live _in_.

As soon as Vader stopped shaking him, Luke made a break for the door. It was easier than he thought because Vader hadn't expected him to do something like that. Luke dove off the bed, and nearly glided through the doorway. When he got there, he closed the door, and locked it before Vader could get out.

Luke didn't pause for a second. He ran down the hallways until he came to the elevator. Entering it, he headed for the highest floor.

When the elevator doors swung open, he was on top of the palace where he had first met Leia. There were a few people out there. (It was a good thing Luke had slept in his clothes or he would have been out there in his pajamas.)

Not seeing any speeders anywhere within sight, Luke ran to the wide catwalks that connected Vader's and the Emperor's two large palaces. When he got to the other side, he ran to the nearest elevator, and got inside. Soon he was in the center of the Emperor's palace.

When he got to the selected floor, he looked around for some indication of the landing pad somewhere within the building. There weren't any signs, and all the people walking through the halls confused him. He decided to just keep walking and see where he ended up. Anywhere would be better than with his father…

…

As soon as Vader saw what Luke was doing, he tried to stop him before he left the room, but Luke had turned out to be faster than he thought. Luke had closed the door behind him, when Vader got there, he was very angry to discover that Luke had locked it.

Smart boy.

He didn't loose his head for a minute. At once, he reached for his comlink and told the officer about his situation.

"Don't bother with me; get some stormtroopers to stop Luke before he leaves the building!"

"Right away sir."

As soon as this was done, Vader used the Force to unlock the door and angrily made his way out into the halls.

…

The stormtroopers from Vader's palace immediately alerted the troops in the Emperor's palace so that if the boy got away, hopefully they wouldn't be blamed. But of course, with Darth Vader, you never know, do you…?

…

It had been about twenty minutes, and Luke was still walking through the palace. He was completely lost now with no sense of direction.

"This is great, just_ great,_" Luke said sarcastically. "Can this get _any_ worse!?"

Suddenly, the he heard the voice of a stormtrooper say, "Look! There he is! Get him, boys!"

Luke nodded. "Apparently it can."

Soon the occupants of the Emperor's palace saw a young teenager running madly through the halls, followed by a squad of stormtroopers two yards behind him, yelling wildly.

…

This chase carried on for about ten minutes. By this time, Luke was near exhausted, and the stormtroopers had fallen a bit behind, for they too were in need of a break.

Luke saw two large doors, opened them, and closed them shut. After locking them behind him, he looked around.

About ten feet away were two winding staircases on either side of the room. Going to the next floor. At the top of the two staircases was another hall going either which way, and connected in the middle by the same hall. Straight ahead, between the two staircases was another set of doors, and a hall in front of it. Directly above him was a huge chandelier that looked like it was worth millions. Suddenly, Luke got an idea.

He unlocked the double doors, and then, opening a small door on his left, he saw two cans of oil used to grease old parts of ships and such. He took one of them, and poured the contents all over the floor in front of the huge double doors and all the way to the staircases.

Then, picking up the other can of oil, Luke ran up one of the staircases and on into the middle of the hall between the two stairs. If he was correct, the stormtroopers would be coming through the doors in exactly…

3… 2… 1… now!

Just as he predicted, the doors opened and the entire squad of stormtroopers came rushing in far too fast. As soon as their feet landed on the oil, they went slipping and sliding across the floors, tripping and falling. It was such a funny sight to see all that white armor falling in a very disorderly manner.

As soon as it seemed like it couldn't get any more chaotic, Luke opened the second can of oil.

"HAHA!" Luke began pouring it down all over the stormtroopers, causing the oil to get all in their armor. It was so funny, he couldn't stop laughing.

But then he remembered that this was just a trick to buy himself some time. He stood up on the railing, jumped out to the center of the room and grabbed hold of the chandelier. He swung over the stumbling stormtroopers and ran out the double doors as fast as he could go.

"HAhahahahaHA!"

…

Luke ran for a long time until finally, he couldn't stand running any longer. He stopped and opened the first door he came to. Hopefully, it would be some sort of room where he could hide…

As soon as the door opened, the aromas of wonderfully delicious things cooking filled Luke's nose. He was in the kitchen!

"Oh yeah, I could hide in here," Luke said grinning.

"Can I help you with 'a something?" said someone with a heavy French accent.

Luke turned around to see the head chef himself smiling a big welcome grin.

"Actually, yes," Luke said. "I'm _really_ hungry."

The chef laughed. "Hahahaa! Well you have come the right place! Chef Amane at your service!"

…

It took a _very_ long time for the squad of stormtroopers to get straightened out. But after about fifteen minutes, they finally were ready to continue chasing Luke. Unfortunately, they didn't have any idea where he went…

…

During all this, Luke was having a fabulous meal in the kitchen. All the cooks and especially the chef loved him, and by the time he was halfway through his lunch, he knew all the cooks by their first names.

Suddenly, the doors swung open, and the squad, their armor stained with oil, came rushing in.

"There he is!"

"AHHH!" Luke grabbed his food and ran out the other door. "Later, guys!" Luke said to the chef and his other friends as he ran out.

"Good 'a luck, Luke!" Chef Amane called after his new friend.

…

The stormtroopers followed Luke up and down hallways, hall after hall after hall. They soon came to a large staircase that they couldn't see the end of. Luke began running up the stairs. It wasn't long before he was out of breath.

"STOP!" Luke yelled at the stormtroopers as he leaned against the rail. Looking up, he saw that he still had a long way to go.

The stormtroopers stopped next to Luke, also leaning against the rail, and sitting down on the stairs.

"I'm so tired," Luke said to one of the stormtroopers.

"Yeah, me too," the troop said.

Luke was breathing hard. "I get this way every time I run up stairs."

The sound of "yeah," and "me too" where heard among the stormtroopers, who totally agreed with their quarry that they were supposed to be chasing.

Luke held out his hand to the stormtrooper. "I'm Luke,"

"Trooper 178," the clone said, shaking his hand.

"Okay," Luke said, standing up. "Let's go!"

And as soon as they stopped, they were on again, the squad chasing Luke, and Luke running away as fast as he could.

* * *

**Author Note: Haha, this was probably the funnest chapter I've written yet! Please review!**


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